Alfa,
Great post. As they say here at DAL; Don't lie, or steal and you will have a great career. This company is pro-pilot. We believe in the "Big Bubble" If you operate outside of it, they will want an explanation. If you make a mistake, take ego out of it and have full disclosure. They will normally do everything they can to help you.

Ditto,

At a previous non-airline flying job, I made a bone-headed mistake that resulted in some bent metal. I took full accountability right from the get go, fessed up and instead of getting fired (the company had a "one strike, you're out" policy) I was praised for my honesty instead.

For all practical purposes, the incident and the subsequent 709 ride could have been a career stopper. With the stack of qualified applicants on file, Delta could easily have passed on me, but during the interview, I told it to them straight: "I screwed up." It's hard to say that because you want to come across as being perfect and you are admitting that you're not. But I think they really appreciated hearing that. They did hire me, after all.

The bottom line is that none of us are perfect, we all make mistakes, some more egregious than others. Most of us will go through our careers without really having to answer to them. But when you do, don't lie. Period. It's the quickest way to the unemployment line.

It does raise the specter of honest pilots deliberately avoiding medical help so they can truthfully put "no doctor visits" on their 6 month medical checks.

Not a comforting thought. It is, however, the lot pilots chose when they went down this career path. Knowing that your career might end at any second due to a medical issue that would be a non-event in any other job kinda sucks. It is what it is though.

Had an FAA ATC'er fall asleep on the mid shift in a tower in Florida. When the police showed up in the tower (after an airliner couldn't get clearance to land), he was snoring away with his gun in pieces (he'd been cleaning it before napping).

Caveat Emptor

You're welcome. If you're dancing around your medical because you can barely hold it that will come out eventually. Just ask the former RAH Shuttle America CA who unfortunately overran the short snow covered runway in CLE due to lack of rest. Cause of lack of rest, sleeping disorder.

We all make mistakes on every flight we take. I keep trying to have the perfect flight but it won't happen. The key is to keep the mistakes small like a slight readback mistake which can be caught easily (think two person crew and ATC all listening).

Hitting the CVR erase button is no mistake; it is a deliberate, willful act and a good way to not only lose your career but maybe get your a$$ thrown in jail.

Ok so this thread makes me grimace... But deltabound, I absolutely love your avatar. It makes me smile and think that maybe someday everything is gonna be OK.

No, I'm not saying that. My first impression was that they were trying to get the 5th and 6th eye out of any inquiry (i.e., he wasn't here).

Whether he was or wasn't sick, or if he vomited in the cockpit may be entirely the case.

The following is the actual text from U.S. FAR 121.542/135.100, "Flight Crewmember Duties":[5]

1. No certificate holder shall require, nor may any flight crewmember perform, any duties during a critical phase of flight except those duties required for the safe operation of the aircraft. Duties such as company required calls made for such nonsafety related purposes as ordering galley supplies and confirming passenger connections, announcements made to passengers promoting the air carrier or pointing out sights of interest, and filling out company payroll and related records are not required for the safe operation of the aircraft.
2. No flight crewmember may engage in, nor may any pilot in command permit, any activity during a critical phase of flight which could distract any flight crewmember from the performance of his or her duties or which could interfere in any way with the proper conduct of those duties. Activities such as eating meals, engaging in nonessential conversations within the cockpit and nonessential communications between the cabin and cockpit crews, and reading publications not related to the proper conduct of the flight are not required for the safe operation of the aircraft.
3. For the purposes of this section, critical phases of flight includes all ground operations involving taxi, takeoff and landing, and all other flight operations conducted below 10,000 feet, except cruise flight.

Note: Taxi is defined as "movement of an airplane under its own power on the surface of an airport".


Nothing the FAA says about reading at cruise except what a company writes in the FOM.........

I know 757, but Op Specs and FOM policies will supersede the FAR's if they are more restrictive and approved by the FAA. :eek: